Experimental Study on Rheology and Thermal Stability of HPAM SolutionImproved by Silica Nanoparticle; Application in Enhanced Oil Recovery

Injection of polymer solutions in oil reservoirs is distinguished as one of Enhanced Oil Recoverymethods. Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide (HPAM) polymer is widely used in polymer injection projects.Due to sensitivity of HPAM to high salinity/high temperature conditions, recent researches wereattracted to investigate the application of silica nanoparticle in improvement of HPAM solutions totemperature and salinity. This study investigates the performance of polymer and nano-silicaenhanced polymer in HPHT applications. To do so, rheology measurements and polymer thermalstability tests were conducted using both polymer and nano-silica enhanced polymer solutions atvarying concentrations, simulating deep hydrocarbon reservoir conditions. According to the results,addition of ۰.۵ wt% of silica nanoparticle to polymer solution, increased the viscosity of HPAMsolution from ۳۱ to ۴۳ cP. Furthermore, results showed that addition of silica nanoparticles improvedthe thermal stability of HPAM polymer solution. Viscosity reductions of approximately ۹۴% wereobserved over a ۹۰-day aging time in polymer solutions under reservoir conditions. In contrast,polymer solutions enhanced with ۰.۵ wt% silica nanoparticles exhibited a viscosity reduction ofapproximately ۳۷% over the same period and under similar conditions. Results of this study revealedthe potential of silica nanoparticle to improve HPAM rheology and thermal properties to be appliedin Enhanced Oil Recovery studies at high salinity/high temperature conditions.

کلیدواژه ها:

Polymer for Energy Storage ، Polymer Rheology ، Polymer Thermal Stability ، Silicananoparticle.